Issue 16

By The Cross and the Cosmos, Jr

In this ecxiting issue of the Cross and the Cosmos:

Embers, Part III
By Johana Rakkav

Tesara
By Joel Parisi

Daughter of Abundance
by Eric Ortlund

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Cross and the Cosmos, Jr
• Release date: Jul 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301023349

The Cross and the Cosmos, Jr

The Cross and the Cosmos publishes the best Christian Speculative fiction on the market! Built on a strive for excellence, this publisher only sends out the best of the best and edits the rest.

Book preview

The Cross and the Cosmos

Issue 16

ISBN: 9781301023349

Copyright The Cross and the Cosmos 2013

Smashwords edition

Table of Contents----

Introduction

by Glyn Shull

1

Error: Reference source not found, Part III

By Johana Rakkav

3

Error: Reference source not found

By Joel Parisi

21

Error: Reference source not found

by Eric Ortlund

50

Cover Art courtesy of Scott Richard. You can find more of his work at:

scottrichard.cghub.com/

and

http://rich35211.deviantart.com/

Introduction

Greetings and well met!

Time at last for another action packed episode of the Cross and the Cosmos! This quarter has been beyond exciting, beyond amazing, beyond anything I could have imagined. We have, dear friends, published two, count 'em, two book currently available from Amazon for print and everywhere else for ebooks. Those books are:

If you have not checked these out yet, then you, my dear readers, are doing yourselves a disservice. What you see before you represents the finest fiction that we have ever produced. I dare say that it is the finest you will ever read(Until we publish again next year). These are authors that you know and love, come back time and again for.

Frank's daring, crisp style and willingness to go where other Christian authors won't has always brought a certain joy to his writing. In Rebirths, he breaks the barriers again, reminding us that we all have valleys in our lives, and we all struggle with our demons, both new and old. Everything Derke has is taken from him: his life, his family, his faith. When offered a chance to keep his family, he makes what seems to be the only decision, but how will it haunt him?

In Catalystica, we follow Ratchen, a man well into his mistakes and plagued by demons as well as memories. Betrayed, this man will stop at nothing to get his revenge on the one he once loved. In order to do so, he must gain access to the fabled Lair of Beasts, but he can't do it alone. This gripping tale will keep you entertained through and through. Never a dull moment, this story will not let you go from page 1 till the end. You'll cry with the characters, laugh with them, and, in the end, be sad to see them go. No worries though, GL assures me that here will be more.

So where can you get your copy? Rebirths can be found at:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/316454

and

https:/sw.createspace.comitle/4283107

The Kamanthian Chronicles: Catalystica can be found at:

https:/sw.createspace.comitle/4118793

and

https:/sw.createspace.comitle/4118793

And for other news, have you followed us on Facebook, yet? This is where you get all the newest TC2 news, insights, and interaction with myself and my authors. Just search The Cross and the Cosmos and give it a go!

I've kept you long enough! The stories in this issue more than speak for themselves and I expect that you will enjoy them without me spending an hour telling you how amazing they are. The stories speak for themselves.

God Bless!

Glyn Shull

EMBERS

By Johanan Rakkav

Part Three

Alain heard the near-panic in Autumn’s mental voice and replied at once.

I’ll explain everything when I get home, he said aloud. Here and now, I’m in the middle of a very big situation, but I’m all right and among friends. Stand by.

Standing by, love. Come home as soon as you can.

I will. By now, a crowd of about two hundred Lightchildren of all ages, men and women and teenagers, had gathered around Alain and his companions in a circle, and many of them were genuflecting on one knee.

"Hold it. Hold it! Alain exclaimed with upraised hands. Stand, all of you, please, and tell me how it is you know of me. You! he added as he pointed to a tall and lovely blonde with blue eyes. You’re of the House of Whitestar, aren’t you? I recognize the sigil on your ring."

Yes, said the woman. I’m Celeste Whitestar, a descendent of Israel Whitestar the brother of Ranger Nathaniel Whitestar.

Alain nodded. Before the Deep Space Fleet was created, special warriors called Ranger Assassins protected mortals and their interests from various hazards on Adami colony worlds. Nathaniel was the first and greatest to be called to the duty. His brother Israel was not a Lightchild, and so carried on the family line. Celeste obviously had been called from the same line in her own time and became a Lightchild herself.

Incredible, Alain went on. A hundred millennia have passed and your accent in Adamic hardly differs from mine. Your House should be commended for its efforts in fixing the language.

We retain the Imprimatur of the Codex, said Celeste, referring to the Book of the Covenants, and using Codex Adamic for comparison, we keep the profane dialect pure as well. Where have you been, Master Alain? Have you returned from beyond the Portal of Light after so very long?

Why do you think I was there?

We know that you disappeared suddenly, ages and ages ago. We could only conclude you returned through the Portal from which you came. Yes, the Hooded Man revealed this much upon your disappearance: both you and the Girl Named after the Moon came from the First Realm, and unlike the rest of us, you two weren’t native to this Realm.

"I remember, Alain said softly. I learned at the end of that terrible dream, he added for the sake of the Hegemons, who I really am—and now I remember who Autumn really is. In actual fact we’re both in the New Heavens and New Earth, as I speak. Here in the Metacosmic Tree we’re but projections—after a fashion."

Celeste nodded in understanding. Mistress Autumn couldn’t bear her grief at your absence, and she begged leave to depart, if possible, to wherever you were. The Hooded Man granted her passage through the Portal of Light, and so we inferred you were beyond it as well.

"Well, not on my own timeline I wasn’t—but what happened to me needn’t be told here and now. So, how is it you remember me after all these millennia? I may be a star in the Great Beyond, but I’m far, far from the brightest one."

"But you were the brightest star here: the Locus, the Steward, and the Herald of the Hooded Man. You changed everything and everyone you touched without changing yourself—except for the better. Today is the anniversary of your departure from us, and so we fast in memory of what might have been."

"What might have been? Exasperation sharpened Alain's voice. One hundred millennia since my departure and you still mourn for what might have been!"

"‘Blessed are those who mourn,’ remember? Celeste lifted her arms in an all-embracing gesture. Do you think what stands around you and above you, or what your Sentry now knows of elsewhere, is a great thing? Ours are but